Are contemporary Americans afraid to be offended?

I’m back! Sorry it’s been a little while since I’ve posted anything; just dealing with life. AND with the added bonus of getting to be ready for the holidays and making sure everything is working out on time.

But seriously, I love the holidays.

There is something that is on my mind lately, and it’s thus compelled me to break my month and a half long silence to share my little wisp of mock wisdom with you all. And that pertains to this question:

Have we become so afraid to be offended, that we’re willing to go against the rights of others?

That is a question I’ve really started to ask myself lately, and while there are no easy answers, there really does seem to be a phenomenon in the U.S. lately, in which people think they have the right not to be offended. To someone who feels their right to not be offended should be accommodated, offensive speech or actions are fodder for brazen censorship.

But don’t we all get offended at something?

In my city, and I prefer not to say which, there was a Rabbi who managed to have a Christmas Tree taken down because it offended him. He felt it was an homage to Christian culture. I guess he didn’t get the memo that the Christmas Tree is a pagan symbol, and has been for a very long time.

One thing that really gets my polo shirt in a twist is the way in which conservatives misrepresent this ‘offense policing’ as exclusively liberal, when just in the past few weeks, you’ve got conservative Christian YouTuber Joshua Feuerstein complaining about Starbucks’ red Christmas Cups. Watch this:

Now our dear friend Joshy said that their new, plain red cup had taken “Christ and Christmas ” out of their coffee cups… were they ever there to begin!?

He says it is a result of political correctness running amok. Wherever there are coffee beans, there is political correctness, apparently. However, he’s taking part in very PC policing he accuses Starbucks to be so ardently engaged in.

So what is going on here? Is the whole nation just going bonkers? Are the younger generation (of which I am a member) ill equipped to deal with the fact that being offended and annoyed are inevitable? Do we just need something to complain about?